Understanding udder health
Last month we talked about why dry cow management is critical, though often overlooked. This month I wanted to dive further into the dry period’s importance to udder health.
Known as SmartSAMM, the new online resource builds on the success of the SAMM Plan (seasonal approach to managing mastitis) with updated information for today's dairy farm systems.
Senior DairyNZ scientist and technical manager for SmartSAMM Dr Jane Lacy-Hulbert, says the new resource gives dairy farmers and their advisors easy access to the complete industry-agreed knowledge about mastitis and milk quality.
"We're very pleased to be able to launch this new resource at the New Zealand Milk Quality Conference 2012. The benefits for farmers and the dairy industry are huge - improved udder health and milk quality, time savings at milking, and ultimately improved production and profit.
"For farmers, SmartSAMM provides key tools and resources to help establish if a problem exists, and if so, what to do next and how to prevent it in future. There are guidelines and key recommendations for managing mastitis during calving, lactation, drying off and the dry period.
"For advisors, the corresponding Technotes provide more of the science detail that sits behind the recommendations – we've really tried to make this an 'all-you-need-to-know' resource," says Dr Lacy-Hulbert.
The SmartSAMM project is a collaboration through NMAC (National Mastitis Advisory Committee) with stakeholders and service providers responsible for mastitis control and milk quality in New Zealand. It is funded by DairyNZ and the Ministry for Primary Industries. The source material has been adapted from Dairy Australia's Countdown Downunder and updated for New Zealand dairy farming.
The new DairyNZ SmartSAMM website is now live at www.SmartSAMM.co.nz.
